


Checking Boxes

by friendlytroll



Category: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Falling In Love, Family, Food, Idiots in Love, M/M, Romance, venom pretending he's not a dad while aggressively being a dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-06 13:10:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20291992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/friendlytroll/pseuds/friendlytroll
Summary: Venom's not really used to liking someone so much. Most people in his life are just... there. Or are Fink. Only now he can't get Boxman out of his head.Well. Maybe by the time he's gotten used to that, he'll be able to get used to having someone to rely on. Or someone he can wake up next to. Or who he wants to take care of. Or...A series of loosely connected scenes of shameless Voxman fluff, on the theme of Venomous thinking about the man who's stolen his black heart.Chapter 1: After the events of Villains Night Out, Professor Venomous takes the long route home to luxuriate in the nights events. OR: 'Venomous tries to out-drive his gay thoughts, and fails'.Chapter 2: Directly after 'All in the Villainy', Professor Venomous seeks out Boxman in his workshop for comfort.Chapter 2: Venomous hates waking up in the morning, but it might not be so bad, these days...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My thanks to my friend Grizz who came up with the title, without whom this would definitely be named "Venomous Has Gay Thoughts".

It was an unusually quiet drive coming back from Boxmore; Fink was completely tuckered out in her carseat, without even so much as a grumpy squeak or a half awake plea to stop by WcMonalds. He wound up taking the long way back- he told himself it was because Fink always slept well in the car but. Honestly, Professor Venomous wasn’t sure he’d ever come back from a party with this much to think about. 

No better time for a long drive.

The moon still loomed large in the sky, bathing the badlands in a cool glow. In the distance, a stray volcano explosion startled a mega super calvariasaur into bleary wakefulness, releasing a trilling song into the night sky. And also a pretty dangerous wave of laser skull beams, but Venom wove his car through the stray bolts that made it to the road without much of a second thought. He still couldn’t get the image of Boxman standing on the deck of the ship out of his mind… the way he’d been framed by black ocean waves reflecting the fires consuming the ship that blended into the star filled night sky. The _ look _ in his eyes. Not a look of _ hurt _ (as he’d been expecting to see- dreading), or even _ anger _ \- no, anger didn’t come close to describing it. Even an emotion like _ defiance _ was too small, too… unassuming. It had been an expression of pure, unadulterated villainous **malice**. 

Shadows washed over the car in waves as the road took them through the heart of the thick, treacherous jungle forest. Towering cactus lined the road around them, creating a gentle chorus of explosive needles popping against the asphalt, and distant pterodactyl cries. He veered smoothly to avoid triggering a fresh volley, leaning back in his chair as he ran the moment through his mind, over and over again.

The use of his crate delivery technology to sink the ship? That had been INSPIRED. Feeling the *impact* of it hitting, the sheer rush of air… the _ heat _ of the explosions! This suit was a complete loss- singed, tattered… when was the last time he’d actually gotten a little roughed up? When was the last time he’d done anything so _ thrilling _? 

...Had it. Actually been since… the *last* time he’d spent with Boxman? When had that been… the dinner party. With that disastrous roast, and… other things. But that *cannon* he’d built- completely on the fly! 

That had been _ fun _. But this. 

This had been _ beautiful _ . He wanted to remember that. How it _ felt _ . The way his mouth had gone dry; he had been absolutely stunned. Like he was pinned under the gaze of a true fellow _ predator. _ He’d felt electric. Enthralled. _ Enraptured _. He had been… 

He glanced to the side. Ahh, shoot. Was that his exit? Dang. 

Venomous impulsively yanked the wheel to the side, slamming his foot down on the acceleration. At the same time he hit the clutch, neatly sending the car into a tight drift turn that kicked them at an angle across the road towards the offramp. The car swerved as he corrected, sending them down into the mouth of a tunnel. Next to him, Fink smiled in her sleep, kicking one leg out and curling up in her seat. He glanced at her in the rearview mirror with a smile, watching as her whiskers bobbed- a happy little bruxing sound filling the car. She always found inertia soothing. He remembered when she’d been smaller and had nightmare problems, he’d taken her out on lots of drives like this. His gaze slowly drifted back to the road, the car now dark save for the occasional flickering streaks of neon as the tunnels lights streamed past them. 

He still had Boxman on his mind. The way he felt right then… he wasn’t sure he’d ever get him _ off _his mind. It would almost have been infuriating if he didn’t find himself loving the way it made him feel. It was like the fog of boredom and routine and exhaustion that always seemed to roll over his days was just. Blown away.

He’d been shocked when Boxman had spoken, he reflected. Shocked that the man wasn’t hurt. That he wasn’t left ashamed by the way the other villians treated him. That he hadn’t cared- cob, no, MORE than that! That he’d never _ planned _ for it to be any other way.He hadn’t come to… to play _ nice. _ To _ network _ , to grovel for their attention! He’d come to _ ruin their night. _

Unconsciously, Venom gripped the wheel tighter, splitting the driving gloves he was wearing and scoring the leather coverings as the ends of his fingers shifted and hardened into claws. He bit down on his lower lip, inhaling slowly as he thought about it. Easy there. 

He absently used his teeth to tug the ruined gloves from his hands one by one, and tossed them into the back seat.He needed to keep ahold of himself. But. It was just so… villainous. He had known exactly what he was doing, exactly what they thought of him, and he’d been doing _ exactly what he’d wanted to _. To terrorize these dangerous, notorious people in the pettiest way possible. With him. 

Had he… ever had so much FUN at one of these parties before? If someone had asked him, he would have said he was looking forward to it but… that was really only because he had Fink with him. And even then he’d just as soon as spend time with her at home. That kind of thing was… fine. He was invited because his notoriety warranted it. He wouldn’t ever have called any of them friends. He didn’t know or care if any of them _ liked _ him. 

...except. He knew _ Boxman _ liked him. Didn’t he? Of course he did. ...Right? Yes. Obviously.

The car came sailing out of the tunnel’s exit, barely even jostling him and Fink as the shocks absorbed the impact. He was going to. Put _ that _thought. Aside. For a moment. 

He reached up and absent-midedly tapped his finger on the car’s dashboard as they approached home, letting the security system remotely read his fingerprint and bio-signal. It was probably overkill- he couldn’t imagine anyone ever trying to _ sneak in _ to _ his _ home. But still. He slowed the car as he approached his driveway, thinking a little. 

Hm. 

Come to think of it. 

If Boxman had been so perfectly aware about the other villian’s opinions of him... then. Had Boxman known _ he _ didn’t want to bring him? A cold chill passed over him....he had to, the man had literally _ begged _Venom to take him along. He’d known that. He just… hadn’t. Cared if Boxman knew how he felt. That was the way things usually were.

..._ Did _ . He care now? Why was he thinking about it this much if he didn’t care. _ Had boxmore seen him acting EMBARRASSED of him at the party??? _

The car smoothly turned into the driveway, just as the garage door opened automatically at its approach. He pulled in, let the cars engine idle, turned the keys, and pulled the parking break- all while staring dead ahead, expression carefully flat. Then, without a sound, he slowly leaned forward, pressing his forehead into the upper steering wheel. He stayed like that for a moment, screaming internally. Just. Screaming. And Screaming. Kind of like the opposite of meditation. 

Stupid. Stupid, stupid- why. Why had he cared?? What was so important about the opinions of the most boring dangerous people he’d ever met?? Was he afraid they’d fucking bring it up _ during a buisness meeting _ ? What, he’d get some snide jokes about it in an email?? That the people who _ cowered _ at the idea of putting a scratch on Point HQ just _ moments _ after swaggering around making the scariest harmless bang noises over the water had _ any opinions he could possibly care about. _ He inhaled and slowly thumped his head against the steering wheel. Stupid, insecure, _ weak _… he screwed his eyes as tightly shut as he could as he berated himself.

And then he exhaled quietly. Okay. Enough. He lifted his head up slowly, opening his eyes. One thing at a time. He was home now. Time to pull himself together. He’d live. Venom got out of the car, walking around to unbuckle Fink from her car seat. He moved carefully as he picked her up, pleasantly surprised at how little she stirred. She must have really been tuckered out.The garage door shut automatically behind him as he made his way into the house, holding Fink against his chest. She only moved to tuck herself in under his chin, making him smile a little as he walked through his lair. 

He was back home. He was collected. His thoughts were clear. ...for about two seconds. Thenhis brian was _ immediately _ hijacked by remembering moonlight shining off of glossy green hair and a mis-matched pair of eyes, lit up with the kind of pure maniacal _ energy _ that he had never- aaand he'd walked face first into a door frame. Venom closed his eyes, rubbed his face, and glared impotently at the offending inanimate object.

Oh, he had it bad. But who could blame him?

Boxman was just so. So genuinely devoted to wiping out the heroes who happened to be in his sights. He saw no reason to compromise with the world. He was doing it all his own way. 

Like those robots of his. He smiled a little as he stepped into Finks room, noting how fast asleep she still was. They’d really kept up with her… but he supposed that only made sense. Boxman was always fine tuning and improving his personal factory models. They were quite literally top of the line, and tested in literally daily combat. No matter how silly they seemed, every single one of them was an engine of destruction. Though, he thought to himself as he carefully got Fink into her favorite pyjamas, it was pretty quirky that they called him “dad”. Cute, he supposed. Like a family. 

He wasn’t sure he could have managed to keep up with something like that, he thought to himself as he went to tuck Fink into bed. He rested Fink’s weight against his hip as he reached into the giant coconut shell filled with soft fleece she used as a bed and made a little depression in the center for her. She liked being in an enclosed space and… well, making an oversized coconut wasn’t exactly a strain with his skill. He settled her in and pulled her blanket up around her shoulders with care, stroking hair a little as she fussed in her sleep. He waited a moment till she settled down, humming a little to himself. Once she seemed cosy he turned on a little lamp next to her bed, projecting dim colored lights onto the ceiling, rotating slowly. Skulls, knives, and cartoonish explosions slowly danced over the walls as he made his way out of the room, ensuring his little minion would get the best night’s sleep she could.

Really. Him, a father. It was just… unthinkable.

It was quiet in the lair. His footsteps nearly echoed as he made his way through the house, vaguely examining his shirt. There was probably no saving it but… a sentimental side of him thought it might be worthwhile to try. For now though… he felt restless. Like an electric charge was still lingering on his skin. Too out of focus to work in the lab, but definitely too wound up to sleep. He decided to head upstairs to his room at least. Maybe once he’d changed out of his singed suit he’d feel more calm. 

Maybe properly think this whole thing over a little more. Try to be clear headed about all this. He was a reasonable, intelligent man. He stepped into his bedroom and started to pull off his singed tie, tossing it aside over his shoulder. It was peaceful in his lair. Quiet. Just like always.

...he wondered if it was too early to text. 

A few minutes later, Boxman’s cellphone (which he really only owned because Raymond had kept badgering him to follow his ‘Pictograms’ profile) went off, playing the customized slinky jazz ringtone Boxman had assigned to make sure Venom’s communiques weren’t lost in the shuffle of work. Aka ‘completely trying to avoid his company’s board of directors’. He’d been lost deep in thought as his workbench, dreamily staring at the little bio chip snug in it’s box when it went off, and the surprise nearly startled him off his chair. 

He picked up his phone, smiling. Venom usually didn’t text him first, after all! He didn’t want to get ahead of himself, but he felt like they’d really _ connected _ this time. Still, it was probably just a business note or something! 

He swiped the message open, still smiling peacefully as he took it in, resting his taloned hand flat on the surface of the table. A moment later his eyes shot open, and a decent foot long gouge had appeared on his desk.

It was a photo. A ‘selfie’, specifically, that venom had taken of himself. He was still in his burnt, torn suit, but his tie was off, with the first few buttons undone. He was reclined, sitting on what looked like the edge of his bed, looking up into his phone with a rather _ fangy _ little smirk. The accompanying message read simply-

‘_ guess i need a new party suit, huh? _’

A moment later the quiet, boring peace of Venoms house was interrupted by a text alert; a dramatic little synthy pulse. The phones light reflected off his fangs as he grinned at the screen. If _ he _ was going to be stuck with Boxman on the brain… he might as well return the favor, right?


	2. The Voxy Bunch: Heartwarming After Credits Scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A good relationship is all about communication; Something Venomous isn't. Great. At. But Boxman makes it easier to try. 
> 
> Set directly after All In The Villainy.

It had been. A long day. That seemed to keep happening now that he was at Boxmore; but he couldn’t really say he disliked it. Sure they were long days but… they were interesting long days. No matter how rough it got, he was still completely certain that he’d still take all this trouble over the peaceful boredom his life had been before he’d bought Boxmore. 

Besides. Before if he’d been frustrated or exhausted he didn’t have a lot of options to fix it. But now he’d discovered something of a  _ miracle  _ cure for the problem. Easy, simple, calming. And never more than a moment's thought away. Or… a short walk down a hallway, at least. 

Venom took a deep breath as he walked into Lord Boxman’s workshop, flicking his forked tongue out a moment to indulge in the smell of the place. The predominating note was metal; heated, cut, smelted, and treated- but it was backed by the intensity of the smelting furnace he used to shape his prototypes and new constructions. The smell of raw heat. And with it came notes of paint, ozone, and that gritty orange soap you had to use if you got oil on your hands. Together it was something unique; something as intrinsically _Boxman _as the company itself. 

The same could be said for Boxman’s workshop space as a whole, really. The whole factory was as good as an extension of the man, but his workshop was the beating heart at the center of it. A reflection of his mind. It was a notion he’d thought about quite a bit. Especially since it, exactly like Boxman himself, was a bit more.  _ Chaotic _ . Then he’d initially been very comfortable with. 

He didn’t like things being out of place; it was kind of a knee jerk reaction of his. He liked things tidy. He liked organization. If he was used to things being a certain way, that getting disrupted created a very real sense of discomfort. 

At first he’d been willing to tolerate it. The things Boxman  _ made _ were just so  _ fun _ … maybe you needed that kind of frenetic energy to make them. And so long as it happened in  _ Boxman’s _ space and not  _ his _ then he could sort of partition it off as ‘not his problem’. But then… somehow, that had changed.

The fun and thrill of it all had  _ always  _ overshadowed any damns he could have given about the mess of it all. He was sure that could have been enough for him. Just. At some point when he wasn’t looking, the discomfort had gotten easier and easier to push away, and something else had grown in its place. Something softer and quieter then the manic glee and excitement, but just as  _ intense _ . 

Something that felt very much like a  _ home _ . 

...Still, he thought to himself as he stepped over a pile of what appeared to be errant mechanical parts. Which were suspended in machine grease so dense that resembled the prehistoric ooze of a far different timeline where _machines were the dominant lifeform_. It was probably for the best that he still kept his own laboratory space. For their... mutual comfort. And also because the things Venom made had a tendency to be a little delicate in their initial stages, while the things _Boxman_ made had a tendency to _explode_ in their initial phases. It was generally more ideal to bring their ideas together once they were at a somewhat. Stable junction. Or at least replaceable. (No one was crying if some tentacles and a Darryl wound up plastered to the ceiling. ...so long as the results didn’t make it into the vents again, anyways.)

But he still found he liked the Workshop more and more. Something about the way ideas went from pencil and paper ideas all the way to metal and malice  _ reality _ all in one single room was so  _ satisfying _ . He could- and sometimes did- watch Boxman machine together new robotic weaponry for hours. Plus mechanical engineering was different enough from his own biological work that focusing on what Boxman was doing let his brain take a proper break for once. But most importantly… it was where Boxman was. 

And there he was, standing in front of his drafting table, scrutinizing his blueprints. It didn’t really look like he’d gotten very far with out of the planning phase, but it could be a little hard to tell. For instance there was a scorch mark on the floor that had definitely not been there this morning, but sometimes that just. Happened. Maybe just a side effect of those bomb gloves he’d made for Fink. Man, those sure had been a hit. He was pretty sure she was going to try to  _ sleep  _ in them. 

Boxman had his jacket off and his sleeves rolled up as he worked, which was, in all honesty, another reason why Venom had come to enjoy the workshop. Boxman did a lot of hard work in there. A lot of… lifting, and using tools, and sweating. Sometimes he did things in there with an honest to cob  _ anvil _ . It was. Positively indulgent to watch.

Still, right then he was glad he wasn’t using anything that needed safety equipment right that second. It let him indulge himself in a  _ different  _ way. Venomous walked silently as he stepped behind him, and leaned down without giving a word of warning, resting his chin against Boxman’s shoulders. Boxman tensed in a cute little startle, and Venom smiled, watching the way his feathers puffed up. Cute bastard. He hummed gently, and rubbed his chin absently back and forth in an instinctive, affectionate motion. 

“Oh! Well,  _ hello _ there…” Boxman said, and chuckled a little, relaxing and shifting his head to one side to affectionately bump against him. Physical affection seemed to come easily to Boxman. Of course, so did physical violence. ‘Physically’ was just sort of how he communicated. Venomous found it… encouraging. He wasn’t exactly a touchy person himself, historically, but since they’d become partners (and maybe even before that) he had gone from hesitantly allowing affection to seeking it out. Enthusiastically, even.

“Mmm?” Venomous asked wordlessly, tilting his head to smush his cheek against him as he reached out to tap the blueprint that Boxman had been working on

“That?” Boxman brightened at the question; he always lit up when he had a chance to explain his work. Venomous would have thought living together might have dulled the response a little, but he could swear if anything he’d just. Lost the nervousness that used to be on the back end of his delight at showing off. 

_ Cute _ . How unfair. He couldn’t help wanting to hear about his work, and getting a response like that every time… really. How was he supposed to handle it? Dastardly. That’s what it was. He had to struggle to not manifest his tail; the urge to rattle affectionately at him could be  _ overwhelming _ at times. 

“Oh, just thinking about some possible battle upgrades for Ernesto. He’s been talking about wanting to do some proper combat again soon! I feel like it’s important to encourage that. And well, you know, he doesn’t get as much  _ time  _ with the plaza as the others…” Boxman explained. Venom made soft little ‘mm-hm’ sounds of agreement as he wrapped his arms around him, settling in to cuddle against him.

“So I want to make sure he can really leave an IMPACT. Through a couple of load bearing walls, preferably.” Boxman chirped happily, reaching up to gently stroke Venomous’ hair like he was a luxurious, long haired white cat and Boxman was addressing the ICPO. 

Venom hummed thoughtfully, looking over the Ernesto schematics laid out before them. It looked like Boxman must have been hard at work for a while; there had to be a solid half dozen concepts already at the blueprint stage. And… one Jethro concept. He was pretty sure designing Jethros (Jethroses? Jethri?) was Boxy’s version of doodling in the margins.

“I agree. He does a lot of good work for the business end of Boxmore. It’s really only fair he get to have a bit of fun. Maybe I could work out a bio-modification that would go well with one of these.” he suggested. He liked Ernesto; he was used to dealing with business minded people, so he’d been easy to get along with when he was first moving in. And he’d done a lot of the heavy lifting on the technical end of acquiring Boxmore back from the board of directors. Ernesto was reliable. And purple. Which did give him an edge. 

But really working with Boxy on anything tended to be enjoyable enough to be worthwhile. Even working out the Bots and Finks music lessons/sports team schedules had been kind of fun. In a way.

“Oh, that would be  _ wonderful _ . We can upgrade him together!” Boxman trilled, nudging his head to one side to nuzzle excitedly against him. He sounded so *excited*. They’d been working together on things for a while now and somehow Boxman always seemed delighted by it. It would have seemed silly except… he was. Always kind of excited too. .

“I’d be delighted to.” he confirmed, before slowly leaning against him, becoming more or less dead weight being held up by the other man. He shifted to press his face against his shoulder, hiding against him as he gripped Boxman’s shirt a little.

“But… right now do. You think we could… sit together a moment? It’s been kind of a  _ day _ .” he asked, slightly hesitant. Not because boxman could possibly have refused him, but because the notion of just  _ asking  _ for this kind of comfort- and receiving it- was still. New. Or it felt new. It had a shape he was still trying to come to terms with. 

He doubted he’d ever even have been able to try, if it wasn’t for the way Boxman always reacted. Like it was natural- like it was  _ delightful _ . He was so sweet. Arguably it contrasted with his villainous demeanor but… selfishly, he planned to never point that out. 

“Aw, Professor… of course we can!” Boxman replied, turning around against him. He pressed a kiss to Venoms cheek and slipped his arms around him, picking him up with no more than the faintest little ‘hm!’ of effort. After all, the man was used to lifting robots. Plural. It was enough to make Venomous blush as he curled his legs up, tucking himself against him as he was carried across the workshop. 

Was this necessary? No. It was like 12 feet away. Could he have walked himself, even if he was in a mood? Yes, obviously, but also why WOULD he when this was an option. Would he have killed literally anyone who saw this?  _ Yes. _ Unless it was Fink. That’d been one of his more embarrassing tuesdays..

The workshop was one of the first areas in Boxmore to truly become established, long before the massive building had properly grown into the factory slash living space it was now. In those days, Boxman had often worked days and nights on his prototypes and plans, only resting, whenever he was forced to by sheer exhaustion. He’d pretty much  _ lived _ there. And that was why he’d had the couch moved in. It was crammed into a corner between a hydraulic roll press and a minifridge. (Contents: a six pack of Explosionaide Danger Cola, a pack of fruit and nut calorie bars that Venomous had put there, and a spare darrel brain.) Even as Boxman’s power had grown and he’d established proper living quarters inside his factory, he still kept the couch for three AM naps and momentary respite. Venom considered it a gesture somewhere between sentimental and superstitious. 

(...it wasn’t the the  _ same _ couch, mind. Nothing in Boxman’s workshop was likely to last that long unless it was made out of steel. And even then it helped if things were bolted to the floor. Couches… did not meet any of these criteria, and were cycled in so frequently he was pretty sure somewhere among the specialized robot construction machinery, there had to be a production line dedicated to  _ furniture manufacture _ . He’d have to check the flowcharts sometime. But whatever the arrangement, he was grateful for it. There was. A limit to what he could come to cherish, and he was pretty sure it was a 20 foot laser wall directly outside the idea of a decade old couch absorbing metal working gunk.) 

Boxman set Venomous down on the couch, and hopped up next to him- leaning towards venomous and patting his lap with an eager, hopeful smile. The kind of expression that made Venomous feel like somehow he was indulging  _ Boxman  _ by sitting with him even though this was at his request. He smiled a little and leaned over, laying down on the couch with his head resting in Boxman’s lap.

Boxman’s hand settled on his head almost immediately, stroking his talons through his fluffy black hair. Here and there he’d trail his fingertips back and forth against the scalp in a sort of… preening instinct. Not something Venomous shared (injecting yourself with rattlesnake dna had its own quirks), but… he couldn’t deny that it was comforting. They sat together in silence for a little while as Venom relaxed.

“It really has been a day, huh.” Boxman said, breaking the silence with a little chuckle. Venom hummed an agreement.

“But at least Darryl and Fink are getting along now, right?” Boxman dadded, leaning back comfortably against the couch. Professor Venomous shifted in response, squirming around so he could throw an arm around Boxman, clinging to him a little.

“Thank goodness for that. But… that’s not entirely what’s on my mind.” he admitted, a little reluctant… but… it was important, right? To… talk? About these things? Probably???

“Oh?” Boxman asked.

“I… this might. Sound silly, but. But you.. Mean what you said? When we were talking with Ernesto?” he asked, tilting his head to one side so that he was looking out over the workshop instead of at him. 

“Well, I-” Boxman started to reply.

“About it. Being too soon.” He interrupted, overcome by the urge to be specific. Then he was overcome by the urge to hide in one of the storage closets instead of having this conversation, but he strangled that down. Or at least was too comfortable to move.

“-Oh! Oh, that. Well…”Boxman hesitated, and Venomous could just  _ hear _ the sad little frown in the air. It made him tense up a little. He wasn’t worried. He wasn’t. Oh cob he was. 

“I’m afraid that I meant what I said.” Boxman said, reaching out to take Venom’s free hand in his own, squeezing firmly. It stung to hear; like fragment of shrapnel stuck in his chest getting jostled. But he supposed he’d rather hear the truth then get back some placid assurance.

“No matter how much I might love working with you, and being together like this… Fink and Darrel were getting along like nitroglycerin and a lit match. So. Yes, I was worried.” Boxman explained, tone anxious but blunt. 

“That’s pretty fair. I just. I know  _ I’m  _ who wanted to do this all so  _ fast _ …” Venom started, to reply, clinging tight to his hand. 

“Oh,  _ PV _ .” it was Boxman’s turn to interrupt, squeezing his hand back and reaching up to cup his cheek. He firmly tilted Venom’s face to get him to look up at him, and leaned down to look him in the eyes.

“You might have been who asked but- I can’t even _tell _ you how happy it made me. How happy having you here makes me! Every day I wake up feeling like the _luckiest man on earth_.” Boxman said earnestly, smiling at him. It was enough to make his heart pound in his chest as he looked up at him.

“Sure, there might be some things to adjust to but. I went from having lost everything to having more than I ever could have  _ dreamed _ of. And I’d gladly live out all my mistakes and failures a thousand times over if it meant I still did whatever I did to deserve you.” Boxman leaned down a little more, trailing kisses down the other man’s face from his forehead all the way to his jawline.

“I’m the man who gets to have it  _ all _ . And whatever problems we’ll have… we’ll handle them together.” he said, before kissing him directly in a firm, lingering little touch. He leaned back against the couch with a bright smile, stroking his hand through his hair again.

Venomous was left a little stunned, staring up at him; in his eyes, boxman was practically haloed with light. He could have sworn he had seen flower petals flutter past him- though, that could have just been left over from one of Raymonds feather boas that Makayla had claimed as a toy. Whatever the truth was he broke out in a small smile, feeling the painful knot that had been settled in his chest for half the day finally easing apart. He sat up just enough to embrace him, wrapping his arms tightly around the man and resting his cheek against Boxmans chest with a soft, relieved sigh. 

“ _ ... _ you were really worried, weren’t you?” Boxman stroked his back a little, kissing his head again and again with a soft, worried affection. Venom turned his face to nuzzle against him directly, partially out of comfort and partially because. Okay it made no sense to hide that he was blushing from the man who he shared a BED with and had seen how embarrassing he was and how awful he looked in the morning BUT HE WAS STILL GOING TO. 

“I was. I’d just. Hate to think maybe you regretted any of this.” he admitted after a moment, shifting to peek up at him. They were tough words to get out. Being honest like that was… difficult. But it did help knowing that his reward for admitting to his distress was being comforted and spoiled more. 

“Never! Never in a  _ million years. _ And if anyone ever says otherwise I’LL DESTROY THEIR WHOLE ROTTEN EXISTENCE.” Boxman shouted, shaking a clenched fist in the air momentarily before returning to cuddling Venom, nuzzling against the fluffy top of his hair as he cooed to him.

Venom chuckled softly, a little maniacal peal of delight going through him as he proceeded to more or less monopolized Boxman's time, attention, and lap for a little while. It was a resource he greatly treasured, after all. And by the time they both finally got back to work (together, this time) he felt a lot more assured.

Assured, and determined to make sure Boxman would never,  _ ever  _ have reason to wonder if this had been a mistake ever  _ again _ . 


	3. Good Morning, Villainous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord Venomous is of the firm opinion that waking up before noon is for Heroes. Or for getting Fink some cereal before passing out on the couch. But... with Boxman around, it might not be... SO bad.

One of the more annoying issues in Professor Venomous life by far was the discovery that it was completely possible to sleep  _ terribly _ … and somehow still sleep like a rock. It seemed unfair, really. If he was going to be exhausted half the time, it felt like the least he could do was not be sleeping.But no. Once he drifted off he was usually  _ out _ . Usually he didn’t even dream. In theory this would have been fine, except it didn’t do him any  _ good. _ No matter what he did, half the time he woke up exhausted. Even when he felt like he’d gotten some rest, it never seemed to make up for the energy debt he racked up every other night. 

As near as he could tell it was just another fun, delightful little  _ side effect _ of using himself as a lab rat. It was annoying, to say the least. But.. he was used to it. It just meant that once again, there was no one he could blame for his problems but  _ himself _ . 

But regardless, it meant he didn’t wake up easy. Or…  _ pretty _ . At the moment he was plastered face down on the bed, sprawled out with his tail wrapped around a pillow, completely lost to the world.

Or.  _ Mostly _ lost to the world. A sound cut through Venoms dozing slumber, making him twist irritably in bed. Oh, cob. Was it morning already? Surely not.  _ Please no _ . He waited a second, claws digging into the bedsheet under him as he hoped incoherently that maybe the noise was something else. Birds outside. Shannons music collection. One of Darrel’s infernal hoedowns! He grit his fangs, quietly going through the seven stages of grief about the concept of being awake.

But no. He could have ignored birds, or music, or Darrel, or an alarm clock, or anything short of a POINT action siren. And… had. Which was why Fink owned an air horn.There was only really the one thing that could wake him up without a giant struggle, somehow. And even though waking rendered him almost completely brainless, he’d know Boxman’s voice anywhere. 

It was faint, but audible, echoing in the vents and vibrating through the walls just enough for him to pick up on it. He was singing... somewhere. Probably cooking. Or showering. Or… dramatically pacing the halls. Boxman actually sang quite often through his day. Which would have been infuriating if it was even an iota less cute. 

Lord Boxman was, it has turned out, a  _ morning person _ . Which. Why?  _ How.  _ Wasn’t the whole perk of being a villian not needing to do things like waking up early...? To defy social convention? Turning your back on the healthy behaviors and routines of the world? But no. He was pretty sure he actually woke up at  _ dawn _ and was just sweet enough to stay quiet and not wake Venomous up until around… tennish, usually. 

(Was it a rooster thing? It was definitely a rooster thing, right.)

In theory, it probably would have been easier for both of them if he’d kept a seperate bedroom. He could have. In theory. Sure, yes, he liked sleeping next to him. He found it comforting, and talking with him before they both drifted off to sleep was one of his favorite things to do every day. It was something that made him happy he was sharing his life with Boxman he wouldn’t have given up for anything. But- uh. But.. 

Venom rolled over, taking the blankets with him. Eh, who was he kidding. The only reason he had  _ ever  _ considered that idea was because it meant he wouldn’t have had to deal with Boxman seeing him like  _ this.  _ And it was too late to worry about that. He curled up tight for a moment, eyes finally opening as he definitely worried about that.

Alright, time to take stock. His hair would be a MESS, he knew that already. ‘Bedhead’ didn’t do it justice. His hair was pretty much 100% cowlick, and whenever he woke up it looked like he stuck his head in a wind tunnel. He was sure it was the same fluffy disaster as always. He reached up to feel his face, wincing as he traced under his eyes, feeling the puffiness there… ugh. From there he checked along his jaw, wincing- he needed to shave something fierce. His usual five o'clock shadow was fine but whenever it grew out more than that it was sort of a. Patchy… whiskery  _ scruff _ situation. Completely unacceptable. And… eh? He furrowed his brow as he felt next to his mouth. Oh,  _ gross _ . Had he been drooling Venom in his sleep again... 

He hauled himself upright to check his pillow and grimaced; there was a  _ distinct  _ fluorescent purple stain that had begun to singe in the center. And oh, look at that! A beautiful smear of black eyeliner he must have somehow forgotten to remove before bed! How delightful. Inherent, dramatic makeup manifestation was convenient and all but whenever he forgot to soak his face in micellar water before bed he woke up looking like a raccoon. With allergies _ . _

Venomous groaned to himself, pawing vaguely at his face to see if he would wipe the worst of it off. No luck. Ugh. Okay, Boxman was singing loud enough he could hear, but… maybe he was still cooking, or just got over excited working on a new Darrel. There was still time. Maybe he could sneak into the bathroom before Boxman got back...? He could clean up, get himself presentable, make sure Boxman didn’t have yet another chance to wonder why he’d decided to move in with a man who was a  _ disaster human being _ .

Right. Perfect. He straightened up, fully intending to spring out of bed, sprint to the bathroom, and then make it back to put up the veneer of a competent adult and someone worthwhile to be business partners with! He had EVERY intention. He was going! To! Do! This! He was- ahhh hell. He was. Literally too tired to do more than pathetically scoot forward in bed, gritting his teeth as he held his arms out. He could only hold this pose for all of a second before he deflated like a balloon, slumping bonelessly forward over the bed. 

Perfect. Couldn’t get better.

And then the door opened. Venom blinked, frozen with one arm out from where he’d whipped the pillow he’d smeared with drool and eyeliner directly through a window (where it was immediately snatched up by a pterodactyl for nesting materials). 

“Good Morning, beautiful!” Boxman crowed cheerfully. Venomous stared, squinting quietly at Boxman as his arm fell back down into his lap. He  _ would _ have been thinking intently if he was capable of doing that at the moment, but instead it was pretty much just a dial tone noise. 

“...I have.  _ No _ idea who you could possibly be talking to.” he said flatly. 

Boxman was in a black bathrobe, carrying a covered tray with some mugs of coffee on it, and generally looked fresh as a man eating daisy. His hair was all ruffled and clean from a fresh shower, his metal all polished. Meanwhile Venom was wearing one of Boxman’s old T shirts as pyjamas, and felt like slash  _ looked _ like  _ hot roadkill _ . 

(He had normal pyjamas. Normal, classy,  _ expensive _ pyjamas which were. Maybe  _ half  _ as comfortable as a decades old t-shirt he would wear like a scandalously short dress. Add to that the fact that the fancy pyjamas ALSO didn’t smell like Boxman, it was no competition.)

Boxman chuckled softly, setting the tray he was carrying down on the bedside table, flapping a hand at him as if he’d told a cute joke. 

“Pfahaw, who ELSE would I be talking to, silly billy?” he said, picking up a pair of mugs and sitting on the edge of the bed to wiggle in close next to Venom. He pressed one of the mugs (#1 BOSS) into Venoms hand, beaming at him. Venomous grumbled softly, accepting his coffee and raising it up to his mouth to to flick his tongue out over the steam, enjoying the smell. Loaded with sugar, and stronger than it looked. He glanced down at Boxman, smiling to himself as he leaned on the man. Just how he liked it. 

“ _ There’s _ that radiant smile~!” Boxmore chirped, leaning up to kiss his cheek. Venomous hissed half heartedly at him, but it just made Boxmore giggle at him. Maybe if he could have rattled his tail at him but. You just couldn’t fake a rattle.

“Ohoho,  _ some _ -bodies got his cranky-pants on this morning, I seeeee. Well I know what’ll fix that!” Boxman chugged his coffee and tossed the mug over his shoulder, where it exploded just off screen. With that out of the way he slipped his hand under the tray, tossing it from one hand to the other so he could present it to Venomous with a flourish. He whipped the cover off the tray, beaming as the room filled with a rich, sweet smell. 

“Tah-dahhh~!” Boxman cheered. Under the cover he’d revealed a plate of… well. Sort of a gooey, yellow white and green mass, with a smaller plate to the side that contained a brownish chunk of dense material, goated in a glossy white frosting. Venom perked up immediately; sure, Boxman’s cooking never.  _ Looked _ great. But against all odds it was, without fail,  _ delicious _ . 

“Scrambled eggs with spinach and cheese, with a slice of freshly baked apple cinnamon roll coffee cake! I know how you like your sweets in the morning.” Boxman said, giggling and picking a fork up to scoop up a bite of the messy eggs, holding it up in front of Venomous’ mouth.

“Say Ahhhh~” Boxman cooed. Honestly, this kind of thing was enough to make Venomous blush, but he dutifully opened his mouth. He closed his lips around the fork as it was pulled away, munching slowly. It really was delicious; savory, full flavored and soft. He exhaled through his nose as he chewed, relaxing a little. 

“You know… that coffee cake looks reaaaally good.” he said, not even really making the effort to sound innocent. When Boxman glanced at him he leaned forward a little, eyebrows bouncing up in the air a little as he opened his mouth to be fed again. 

“Ohhhhh. You should  _ really  _ finish your proteans before having sweets this early in the morning. Buuuuttt…. it  _ is _ a new recipe~ I suppose just this once!” Boxman chortled, cutting a chunk of cake off with the side of the fork and holding it up for Venomous. 

This time Venomous took a hearty bite out of the chunk, humming with satisfaction as the sweetness spread through his senses. Quickly he took a sip of coffee, letting the flavors mix as he relaxed down against the remaining pillows and leaned his head against Boxman’s shoulder. For a moment, all was right with the world. Boxman smiled, snapping his fingers to cue a little hatch to open in the wall, dropping a mug (#1  DAD LORD) which filled automatically with more coffee (taken tall, dark, and bitter). He was still holding up Venomous’ fork for him, so he leaned forward to snatch the rest of the cake from it, curling his tounge around the delectable morsel to pull it back into his mouth.

And for a moment, it was quiet. The only noise was the sound of the factory floors far below them, and a pterodactyl singing outside as it tore up a pillow. Just him, and Boxman sitting together, enjoying each others company as Venomous ate. Just one thing nagged at him enough to want to interrupt the moment. 

“You…. really think I look.  _ Decent _ right now? I mean. Like  _ this _ ?” he asked, stealing the fork from him to get another bite of the cake. He’d eaten like half his eggs, it was fine.

“What kind of question is that?” Boxman asked, blinking up at him. He shook his head, reaching up to gently wipe a crumb off of Venomous’ scruffy cheek, looking up with half lidded eyes full of warm adoration.

“You’re  _ radiant _ . I mean, you’re always _ devastatingly _ attractive, of course! You’re a… a… a cool, collected beauty! Always so sleek, and put together.” Boxman said, cheerfully all too happy to extol his virtues. Venom smiled despite himself, setting his own empty mug in the wall nook to get a refill.

“Well, sure. You’ve got good taste~” he said, making a little clicking sound as he winked at Boxman. “But in the  _ mornings _ -”

“In the  _ mornings _ you’re  _ still _ the most handsome, dashing, wicked man I’ve ever met. Just a little more ruffled. And… and besides.” Boxman paused a little, blushing and twiddling two of his fingers together in aimless circles. 

“I like knowing that almost nobody  _ else _ gets to see you like this. Knowing that nobody  _ else _ could possibly be allowed to take care of you like this. It feels like something… special. A treat~!  _ All just for me _ .” Boxman’s smile went from sweetly bashful to *greedy* as he spoke, his fangs shining in the morning sunlight as coals of  _ selfishness  _ burned in his eyes. 

But in Professor Venomous’ gaze… Boxman was  _ shining _ . He stared at him, mouth hanging open slightly. Boxman glanced up at him and gave a soft, sweet little smirk, clearly enjoying his reaction. He reached up with a single scaly finger to stroke under Venom’s chin, pushing gently to close his mouth for him.

Venomous smiled slowly, a crooked little expression he couldn’t have repressed even if he’d wanted to. He set his fork down on the tray, leaning down to press his chin directly into Boxman’s hand. 

“...well then~ You know, brushing my hair’s always a real pain in the morning.” he said, bouncing his eyebrows up at him a little, just the same way he’d silently begged for a bite of cake.

“How’d you like to help me  _ preen _ , Boxy~?” he added, just for the joy of watching the other man blush. 

“OhohoHO! Why, you saucy thing! And so  _ early _ .” Boxman covered his mouth and turned his head as if in demure shock, even as he looked right  _ back  _ at Venomous through his eyelashes with a fancy, slightly  _ leering  _ little smile. 

“I’d be  _ delighted  _ to help, P.V.” Boxman leaned over to rummage in the nightstand on Venomous’ side, pulling out a thick bristle brush. Still grinning, Venomous set the tray aside and picked up his fresh cup of coffee, scooting forward on the bead to make room. Immediately Boxman stepped behind him, sort of half leaning on the headboard as he gathered Venomous’ hair up in his hands. 

Venomous sipped his coffee, closing his eyes with a blissful hum as Boxman started off by slowly combing through his hair with his talons, working out any larger knots he could find. Then he brushed slowly, starting from the very bottom ends of his fluffy hair, sweetly leaning against Venomous’ back as he worked. 

Maybe mornings weren’t...  _ so  _ bad. 

But still. He was really at his  _ best  _ about oh… 

**12 Hours Later**

Venom always felt a little more invigorated when the sun went down; that hadn’t changed at Boxmore. Just now it was… different. Before, he’d enjoyed the silence. Nothing to bother him. Now… well. It was a different kind of peace. At night in Boxmore, you could hear the thrum and rumble of the factory equipment in the building. He often thought it kind of felt like something  _ alive.  _ Preparing. Tensed and ready, even as each little light at Lakewood Plaza Turbo winked out. All those little heroes going back to their beds to rest up, while they remained hard at work to  _ destroy  _ that sense of peace. 

Delightful, really. ...but, ‘working hard’ was kind of the problem. 

Venomous made his way down the hall, carrying a fancy paper take-out bag in one hand and vaguely finishing the days attack log on his phone in the other. Minions involved, Raymond and Fink. Equipment allocated, Finks bomb-gloves, a bomb arm-cannon modification for Raymond, supercharged tennis rackets, and an  _ adorable _ pair of matching tennis outfits. Damage done, significant parking lot cratering, three broken windows, roof damage, and most vitally the power supply to the refrigeration system destroyed. Additional notes: store recorded as flooding several hours later. Tragically, he suspected damage to the reserved frozen food stock was mitigated by the ice powers of…. 

Of… he stopped in the hall, zoning out a moment. Oh, sweet corn. ONE of them had an ice power, right? Not KO, surely? He might not have had a bead on just what the kid could do, but he couldn’t see how ice powers would be involved there. Definitely not ‘Gar’, at least not unless he’d changed a LOT since his El Bow days. Which, to be fair, he suuure had. Kind of a shame. He’d been so cute, back in the day. Ernesto had called it ‘Moe’, once, he’d have to ask him what that meant.

He picked his pace back up, using his knee to bonk against the doors to Boxman’s office, cuing them to slide open so he could step inside. 

“Boxy, which one of those kids can do the ice thing? It’s right on the tip of my tongue and I need it to log today's attack report.” he asked, walking through the dark, imposing office to stand at Lord Boxman’s side. The windows were open, providing a perfect view of the plaza he always found himself admiring. What an eyesore~ Then he blinked slightly, and glanced down at him when he realized no response was coming.

Boxman was sitting leaned forward in his throne, lit only by the light emanating from the multiple holo-screens he’d pulled up over his desk, each one of them  _ dense _ with information. You could tell he’d been at it for hours. His jacket was rumpled and unbuttoned, pushed open enough he could see his cute suspenders. His shock of green hair was ruffled and puffed up with anger, falling over Boxman’s face just enough to create a dramatic shadow. And that  _ face _ . 

It was the most beautiful expression; his fangs were bared in a scowl as he glared at the screens, eyes half lidded as he scoured them like every flaw or problem under his hands as he typed was his  _ deathly enemy _ , and he had come to  _ destroy _ them. Pure focused  _ malice _ had twisted his features as he worked, his eyes eyes positively aglow with that focused, devoted hatred that Venom just loved  _ so much _ . It’d be a shame to distract him.

Luckily, Professor Venomous was shameless. 

But first… Quietly, carefully, Venom raised his phone up a little more, flicking open the camera app. he bit his lower lip as he carefully held the phone out at arms length, angling it to try and get a good shot of Boxman without disturbing him. He checked the screen, grinning to himself. That was a keeper~

Then Venomous glanced around a moment, double checking that the door was closed. He took a soft breath and tucked his phone away, focusing a little. The only sound that accompanied his rattlesnake tail manifesting was the whisper of it rustling against his lab coat. He leaned down, and let his tail flick out to slide between Boxman and his chair, the anticipation of the ‘strike’ making his pulse rise a little. Carefully… and… 

He struck, his tail sliding between Boxman and his chair to wrap around his waist, dragging him back away from the keys. At the exact same time he leaned down until his lips were almost touching him, a cruel smile curled up on his face.   
  
“ ** _Hiya, handsome~_ ** ” he purred directly into Boxmans metal ear, indulgently squeezing him with his tail. Oh, it was  _ mean _ , but he did so savor Boxman’s look of shock as he was startled out of his revere. Ah well. He made up for it by gently kissing his cheek, and reaching up to gently comb back Boxman’s hair as the other villain… rebooted, as it were. It took a moment, but he didn’t really mind. 

“...Handsome…?” Boxman mumbled under his breath, glancing down at himself a little as if in confusion. He’d said it so quietly, that Venomous never would have heard him if his tail wasn’t wrapped around his chest; but the vibrations of him speaking read loud and clear. Venomous raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to say something- but before he could, Boxman snapped his fingers, beaming up at him. 

“...Enid!” Boxman said brightly. “Enid, she’s the one with an… ice kick, I think. Wait.” he frowned a little again, gesturing with his hands like he was sectioning something off.

“No, no, ice  _ breath _ , fire  _ kick _ . How could I mix those up? It’s one of those blasted  _ ninjitsus _ of her, I think… Or. Maybe because she’s ‘cool’? I wouldn’t put it past those brats. With their infernal…  _ puns _ .” Boxmore growled, returning to his previous villainous simmer a moment. Then he smiled brightly up at Venom, one hand finding its way to the tip of his tail to pet against it’s sleek, scaled curves. 

“...also, hiya, PV. Sorry about that~! Guess I got kind of… wrapped up in what I was doing, you know? I didn’t even hear you come in!” he said, checking nervously and gently lifting his tail up to kiss along a purple curve, as if apologetically. 

“Ahhhh,  _ Enid _ . You don’t have to apologize every time. You know how I admire your  _ focus _ .” Venom said, smiling down at him and curled a finger through Boxman’s hair just as he pulled his hand away, taking his phone back out of his pocket. 

“Oh, but I  _ do _ ! Even if I can’t help it, I… I just can’t stand knowing that I could miss something as important as your presence. Don’t get me wrong, I might get wrapped up in my  _ plans _ for those piddling plaza palookas, but you…” Boxmore smiled up at Venomous, putting one hand over his own heart and gesturing at him with the other. 

“You’re the most important thing in the room to  _ me _ , Professor. No matter where I go.” he declared, beaming up at him with half lidded eyes and a sweet, darling sincerity. Somewhere, Cupid nodded in content satisfaction, appreciating a good clean shot as a metaphorical arrow hit Venomous’ hearts in a perfect bullseye.

Venomous felt his heart skip a beat, even if the only outward sign was his cheeks getting a bit more… purple. He let himself smile a little, uncurling his tail from Boxmores chest as he stepped around his chair, looking back at him over his shoulder. 

“Well~ I’m afraid we might have a problem,then.” he murmured, turning on one heel to sink down, sitting daringly right on the edge of his desk in front of him, setting the paper bag he’d carried in aside. His tail curled beside him, half draping off the desk as he scooted back, settling in.

“Because I can think of something far, far more important than  _ me  _ in this room.” he drawled, leaning down close to him. Boxman blinked, frowning with immediate worry as he glanced around the room. 

“Oh?? What could that be? I don’t keep anything particularly valuable in here…” he said, holding a clawed knuckle up to his lips as he thought. Venomous’ only reply was to chuckle gently and reach out with one hand to gently boop his finger against Boxmans nose, looking right at him.

He watched, smiling, as realization slowly dawned on Boxman’s face, rising into delighted  _ surprise _ as Boxman burst out laughing. He slapped a hand to his cheek, gently flapping the other one at Venomous as he turned his face aside, bashful. 

“Ohhhh,  _ you _ !” Boxman cooed, chortling and giggling in sweet, flustered giddiness. 

“I’m just telling the truth~” Venomous said, winking at him as he discreetly raised his phone up again, slamming his thumb down on the shutter button to take a burst shot. Only then did he open his attack log again, scrolling down to the days attack. 

“Okay. Damage done to frozen foods, likely mitigated by ice power capabilities of…  _ Enid. _ ” Venomous smiled as he completed the log, tapping the entry to quickly color-code it by robots used, damage scale, and overall satisfaction. He frowned slightly as he got to the hero color codes, glancing up at Boxman with an uncertain frown. *Shit*. Damn his apathy for other living beings.

“Enid… Enid. That’s the… the one with the…?” he started, deliberately pausing to see if Boxman would fill in the gaps. But instead the man just brightened up and leaned forward expectantly, rolling his hand in the air as a silent little ‘go on!’.  _ Damn _ . Immediately Venomous began to sweat, frown deepening as he racked his brain. Okay Boxman had said something about ninjitsu, and ‘cool’ as a pun, so…?

“...ponytail! The one with the ponytail!” Venom blurted out, tensing and waiting with bated breath. Boxman lit up, and rewarded him with a huge, sunshiny grin. 

“That’s  _ right _ ! You got it, PV! Gold star~!” Boxman crowed happily, kicking his legs and tossing a handful of confetti up unto the air. Venomous sighed in relief, before immediately crossing his arms over his chest and tossing his hair aside, even though a worried frown was still haunting his prideful expression. 

“...Oh!” Venomous blinked as something occurred to him, unfolding his arms to tap his fist into his open palm as he thought of something.

“ _ Speaking _ of gold stars, I feel like Raymond and Fink both earned at  _ least _ one Voxys Star each today, don’t you think?” Venomous suggested, picking his phone back up and opening up the special app Boxman had programmed to keep track of the kids’ current Star collections. It loaded up, showing a little cartoony representation of Boxmore, currently under a little night sky, with each minions little avatar tucked cutely in bed.

(Along with the phone app, there were also literal shiny star  _ stickers _ they used to reward their collective minions, which usually were ferrited away to some place of honor in the Bot’s and Fink’s rooms. The spreadsheet however let him easily keep track of if they’d  _ spent _ their Voxy Stars yet, which was useful since Fink seemed determined to teach her new co-workers how to use  _ guile.  _ Which was a thought that inspired a really special mix of pride and exhaustion.)

“Oh! You’re  _ absolutely  _ right!” Boxman said, beaming and clapping his hands together at the suggestion. 

“They really did a  _ number _ on the bodega! Fink’s been doing SO much better working together with the others in general recently too, I know she’s been working hard. And oh, oh!! They were just soooooo cute! The outfits! Oh I know Raymond always likes to run with a theme but it was even BETTER than I could have imagined!” he enthused, wiggling from side to side in his chair in pure paternal, villainous glee. 

“Oh, I  _ know _ , right? I took so many photos when they were getting ready… you made sure Ernesto got a recording of the fight, right?” he asked. Boxman nodded intently, tapping his desk to bring up a short clip of Raymond and Fink posing triumphantly in front of a burning car, cackling as bombs went off all around them. 

“Fantastic! Well… would you care to do the honors~?” Venomous asked, holding his phone out to Boxman with a smile. 

“You know, I have to hand it to you, PV… I wasn’t so sure about this whole ‘reward’ system of yours, but it’s really worked  _ wonders _ !” Boxman chirped, tapping the screen. He selected Raymond and Finks little avatars, popping them both into a little representation of the office. Another set of taps dropped a bright purple and green star on their avatars with a little fireworks affect, cuing the miniature Ray and Fink to hop up and down with joy. 

“Well, you know what they say. You catch more flies with honey~” Venom teased, glancing at his phone fondly before bringing his tail up to gently tickle the rattle just under Boxy’s chin. 

“Oh! Eheheh… well, I suppose you’re right. As always~” Boxman said, giggling sweetly. Venom smiled at him, closing the program to check his attack report one last time before humming and staring off into space. He straightened up, crossing his arms.

“Enid… has a girlfriend, right? Is it the... strawberry girl, or that redhead?” he asked, resisting the urge to pick his phone back up and check the files Boxman had made for him. He was trying to  _ learn _ , damn it. His tail swished back away from Boxman, settling over his desk (and probably slapping his keyboard). 

“The redhead!  _ Radicles _ might have a crush on Droupe though, so you weren’t far off!” Boxman confirmed, smiling. Venom thought a little more, then brightened up, smiling wickedly as he leaned forward. 

“ _ Say _ , what if we-” he started- but stopped, blinking as Boxman put a hand to his mouth, silencing him with a stern shake of his head.

“Absolutely not. It’s all well and good to wreck their days, but I have to draw a line somewhere. They’re basically  _ children _ ! And I’m sure they have more than enough problems figuring out their relationships without our meddling. And besides-” Boxman lectured firmly, but this time it was Venomous’ turn to interrupt. 

“Let me guess. You’re a villain. Not a monster?” he suggested, resting an elbow on his lap and slouching down to rest his chin in his hand, glancing away in annoyance. Mostly... at himself. 

“Bingo!” Boxman smiled again at that, the expression softening after a second from delighted to apologetic.

“Sorry, PV. I know I’m a little old fashioned, but. These things are important to me.” he said, reaching out to take Venom’s free hand, cupping it between both of his. That was enough to make Venom warm a little, shaking his head.

“No, no. You’re right. You really are. I just need to get a little better at thinking... inside the Box.” Venomous assured him, gently pulling Boxman’s hands up to press a kiss to each of them, his lips lingering a moment against his knuckles as he looked him in the eyes. 

“Oh…  _ Professor _ …” Boxman said, eyes shining a little as he looked up at him. Venom smiled, lowering Boxman's hands again.

“C’mon now, Boxy… I signed up for this. I  _ asked  _ for this. I  _ want _ to be a  _ part _ of Boxmore, with  _ you _ . Are you really going to praise me every time I make that clear?” he teased, tilting his head to one side at him. Boxman appeared to consider this, rubbing his chin with one hand, eyes drifting up towards the ceiling as he hummed thoughtfully.

“Hmm. HMMM…. Hmmmmmm… Why, yes!  _ Yes I am~” _ Boxman declared, eyes flashing as he grabbed Venomous’ hand and pulled it back towards him, kissing the back of his hand up towards his arm voraciously. Venomous laughed, holding his arm out for him with a flourish.

“ _ Good _ . Now praise me more, ‘cause I brought us sushi.” he purred, crossing one leg over the other and reaching out to pick up the bag he’d carried in, dangling it gently at the man. 

“Sushi! Oh, Professor! You really know how to  _ spoil  _ a man~” Boxman crooned, immediately reaching out to take the bag for him- only blink, frowning in wide eyed disappointment when Venom held it far up out of his reach. 

“...whiiiiich we will be eating somewhere  _ besides _ your office.” Venom added, raising one eyebrow as he looked down at him with a studied, neutral expression. Immediately Boxman scowled, smoke rising from his teeth as he crossed his arms and glared at him with petulant annoyance. 

“Booo. I revoke my praise! Negative stars.” he growled, albeit without much force. It did sting a little… but Venomous’ resolve was set. Sometimes to truly spoil someone you loved, you still had to be firm. A little. Sometimes. If he was reaalllly sick of something.

“First of all, no backsies. Second of all this is an ultimatum, not a debate. We don’t have to go to the dining room, or even the kitchen if you don’t want to. But we. Are  _ not.  _ Eating in your office.” Venomous spoke firmly, straightening his back so that he could loom properly, his words punctuated with a low warning rattle as his tail vibrated in annoyance.

Still. Boxman was too steely for that to make him back down right away. He scowled back, tucking his chin down against his chest and twiddling his fingers together, tapping fingertip to talon-tip in meaningless little fidgety patterns.

“But, I-” he tried, His frown squiggled a little as he glanced back up at Venom- and this time he wilted a little as Venomous’ glare upgraded from ‘firm’ to ‘skulls’. 

“I get what you’re saying- I do! But… but it’s so late that if I leave the office NOW I might as well clock out for the night!” Boxman exclaimed, keeping one arm tucked against his chest as he gestured with a hand at his surroundings. Venomous only raised an eyebrow, unimpressed with the argument. 

“That’s the  _ idea _ , Boxman.” he said firmly, leaning forward to put himself even more directly above the other man.. Boxman’s eyes went wide, and for a moment he could only sputter in response, gesturing emphatically. 

“That- why- you don’t- wh! Dangit, PV! What’s the harm if I burn just a _ little _ midnight oil? I’m getting  _ work  _ done! PAYING work, I’ll have you know!” he smirked up at him at that, radiating smugness and clearly feeling that he’d played a trump card. But Venom was.  _ More  _ than unmoved.

“Okay, first of all-  _ Really _ ?” he asked, tilting his head to one side and giving him a Look. Boxman wilted slightly at that, scratching the back of his head. 

“W-well… I mean… I did come up with a nifty modification to the workflow that I think could really up our production qualities on sending out death robots in a  _ modular _ configuration that could easily be assembled on site… but.. I mean… it’s possible I was  _ mostly  _ working on a firmware update.” he admitted, smiling a fangy, sheepish smile up at him. 

“Mmhm. And  _ second  _ of all…” Venomous brought his tail forward to wrap the tip around the takeout bag’s handle,keeping it out of Boxman’s reach. With his hands freed up he could reach out, cupping Boxman’s face in between his hands. Boxman blinked in surprise, blushing a little- but also relaxing enough that Venom could see the lines of exhaustion in his face. Which was. Cute as hell, cob knew. He had a special fondness for Boxman’s crows feet. Cob, stay on  _ target _ , Venom.

“I’m not going to be happy just because you tell me something is paying work. Me  _ being  _ here is supposed to mean you don’t need to  _ worry  _ about ‘paying work’ anymore.” he said forcefully, scowling down at Boxman again.

“I understand that you still want to honor your contracts but. I am  _ not _ going to let you exhaust yourself. Not for Boxmore, and  _ especially  _ not for some idiot like  _ Billiam Milliam _ .” Venomous explained, trying and failing to keep emotion and distraste from coloring his voice. 

“...A-actually, it’s for Miss Quantum. Apparently test season is coming up! So she-” Boxman started to explain nervously, holding a finger up. 

“I. Do  _ not  _ care.” Venomous said flatly, glaring down at him. Immediately Boxman, retracted his finger, looking away from him with a little apologetic frown. Which. Stung. Venom took a soft breath, trying not to let that distract him too much… but… maybe he was being a little harsh.

“I mean. I don’t care  _ who _ it’s for. Don’t get me wrong. I  _ love _ that you put just as much work, if not  _ more _ , into making sure a grade school teacher can torment a classroom of stressed children as you do into making sure a multi billionaire can selfishly amuse himself instead of doing just literally anything to help his fellow man.” Venomous said sincerely, tilting Boxman’s face back towards him. As soon as Boxman shyly looked back at him he leaned down to quickly plant a little apologetic kiss to his forehead, stroking his cheek. It got a giggle out of Boxman, which made Venomous smile just a little. 

“I  _ adore _ that dedication of yours. That drive! But more than I adore that about you… I need  _ you _ , Lord Boxman. You, yourself.” he said firmly. He leaned down as he watched Boxmans eyes go wide, willfully adding to the other man's fluster by softly pressing a kiss against his lips, still holding his face. He hummed softly as Boxman kissed him back, only pulling back to make sure he didn’t lose the damn plot.

“And that means no letting you try to burn the dynamite at both ends, Boxy. No more all nighters, no more living in your office, and  _ especially  _ no working yourself to the bone for some  _ contract _ work. Not when I’d gladly pay a fortune to keep you safe. Okay?” he told him, trying to pretend to himself it wasn’t at least half a plea. 

Boxman was quiet a moment, eyes downcast as he seemed to think it over. It might honestly not have been much more than a minute or two, but… to Venomous, it felt like a tiny eternity waiting for the sight of Boxman glancing back up at him. 

“...Okay, PV. I can’t promise I’ll always remember… or even always make it easy for you. But I can promise I’ll do my best.” Boxman said sincerely, reaching up to put his hands over Venomous’. He gently pulled his hands down away from his face, lacing their fingers together as he tilted his head down and looked up at Venomous with a tiny, almost shy little smile. 

“Hey now… I never said you had to make it  _ easy _ for me.” he said, unable to keep from smiling. It felt a little like a knot had eased apart in his chest, seeing Boxman smile again. 

“All I need is for you to let me  _ take care  _ of you.” he added, leaning down to bump his cheek against Boxman’s in a comfortable little nuzzle. Boxman giggled at him, nuzzling back. 

“Why, I could say the same to you, Professor~!” He chirped. 

“Oh?” Venomous asked, tilting his head slightly to one side. Boxman smiled at him and stood up on his chair, putting himself on the same level as Venomous. 

“You said I love my work. And that’s true! I  _ love _ spending my days figuring out how to destroy that accursed Plaza… but.” Boxman let go of one of his hands and reached up, suddenly cupping Professor Venomous’ chin. Venom swallowed a little, eyes widening as he watched Boxman slowly smile. Not a cute grin; not a shy little beam, or even a smirk. 

Lord Boxman was smiling down at him with a wide, fancy,  _ merciless  _ grin. The kind you could have commanded an  _ army  _ of loyal minions with. The kind that Lord Boxman  _ did  _ command an army with. It was the smile that summoned a german orchestral sting, or a synthy rising pulse, a darkening stage, the  _ snuffing of all hope _ . He could  _ see  _ the fires burning in Boxman’s eyes; the lights of complete and total  _ ruin _ . Pure, manic  _ certainty. _

“Don’t forget, my dear Professor…  _ you’re  _ part of my job now, too~ And you’re far,  _ far  _ too important for me to take care of any other way but  _ Personally. _ ” Boxman’s voice positively dripped with honey as he spoke, shifting into a deep, intense little  _ growl  _ on the very last word. Venom was sure his heart was pounding in his chest, but he could barely feel it. His whole world had narrowed down to Boxman and Boxman alone in that moment. 

And when Boxman leaned down to kiss him, the rest of the world might as well have been burning down, for all he cared. 

Boxman pulled away with a gentle sigh, smiling brightly at the man who was pretty sure he’d known what the hell his own name was BEFORE that kiss. V-something, right? It barely mattered. He was a little busy trying to figure out if there was a localized star shower in the office, or if that was just him. 

“Tell you what, PV~! How about you and me go eat that sushi in the den! We can put some music or a movie on and relax together~” Boxman chirped, hopping down from the chair. He was still holding one of Venomous’ hands, tugging a little insistently. 

“Hm? What now?” Venomous (that sounded right) asked himself, shaking his head slightly. Sushi…? He glanced back at his own tail, putting the pieces together. Right, right. 

“Ah, right! That sounds like a great time to me. Maybe we could grab a bottle of apple juice and get… comfortable.” he suggested, standing up to walk with Boxman out of his office. 

“You read my mind, PV!” Boxman grinned, hand still in his as they walked out into the hallways of Boxmore together. 


End file.
